Would you put child in front seat in this situation?

niccig

New member
I dropped DS off at a friends and she was going to meet the rest of our playgroup at the park. She now has Nautilus and an unknown 40lbs seat in her car, so DS's Uptown wouldn't fit. I didn't have time to try and redo her seats. The park was 1 mile away, so I put DS's seat in the front seat - no airbags and seat was all the way back. It turned out that they did not go to the park after all, so DS didn't ride in the car this way.

There's a chance that we would have a similar situation again. Would you put a FF child in the front passenger seat if you can't get 3 across in the back? I am considering a rider safe vest. DS is nearly 35lbs, so he could wear the small. But this friend has a very difficult time installing car seats, so I don't know if she would be able to use one correctly.
 
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bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
i do it. My back seat is almost completely incompatible with 3-across, given the seats I and my close family/friends have, so when I need to transport 3 kids, one usually goes in the front. It isn't the safest option, of course, but with no airbag, it's not horribly unsafe either. even with an airbag, a harnessed child pushed all the way back isn't horribly unsafe. i think each parent has to decide for themselves what level of safety they personally are comfortable with. For some parents,that measn turning FFing at 1 year and 20 lbs despite it being the most dangerous ioption we have data for...and for others, it means harnessing until 80 lbs in a regent....and then there is all the in-between.
 

monstah

New member
In the situation you describe, unable to get 3 across then yes, I would let my DS ride harnessed in the front seat for a mile.
 

zeo2ski

Well-known member
Sorry, but I just wouldn't. They don't need to go to the park. I'm not a fan of making exceptions for short distances or infrequently used cars, etc. Especially since I wouldn't be the one driving. Who says there won't be an accident even though it's just a mile? If you're not comfortable putting a child harnessed in the front seat w/o airbags on a regular basis, for long and short trips, then I wouldn't do it even once unless it were an emergency.

That's my non-tech parental opinion for my children, it doesn't mean it's right for anyone else.
 

niccig

New member
I would just take my child to the park myself.

I forgot to add that I was not there. My friend was looking after DS so I could go to a class.

I think it might be possible to get 3 across in her car, but I'll have to play with all the seats when I have time. I might be able to move her 2 seas over an inch or so, to give room to the Uptown. I've been thinking about a Rider Safe Vest, and that would work in this situation. Once DS is big enough, I might get one, and we'll be able to do 3 across in my car too.
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
with no airbag... yes

with an airbag... in that situation... yes, if she couldn't stay home and miss the outing, but the airbag would make me try to avoid it more.

if he were rf, it would be another story if there was an airbag.... but again, cause no airbag, I'd still go ahead and do it...

obviously everyone's seat needs to fit and be installed properly, or it's not safe... and it's not ideal, but it's better than someone riding improperly.
 

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